Well, I hope everyone likes the champagne bubbles because we're committed to them now! After agonizing over trying to choose the perfect design for Anders' graduation quilt for weeks now, I finally decided to show a few options to the soon-to-be-graduate himself and see what HE likes. Anders chose this design for his quilt, Kristin's Champagne Bubbles E2E, and I started stitching it out this afternoon.
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| Kristin's Champagne Bubbles E2E on Kaleidoscope Quilt |
I just LOVE how my IntelliQuilter can quilt out such smooth, perfect circles onto a quilt, don't you? This is one of those quilting designs that can only be stitched out with a computerized machine. I chose 100% Quilter's Dream Cotton batting for this quilt since Anders complains about being too hot at night -- and since he'll be attending college in South Carolina. The thread is Glide in color Split Pea, selected because it blends into most of the lighter colored fabrics in the quilt top and is a near-perfect match to the backing fabric.I got about a third of it quilted before calling it quits for the day, and I'm hoping to finish the rest of the quilting tomorrow as long as my machine cooperates and I don't get sidetracked by other things.
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| Thread is Glide in Split Pea |
Just had to share THIS loveliness with you, though. You know how I've been telling you all along that this quilt has 11" blocks and it's going to measure 77" x 99", to fit an XL Twin college dorm bed? Well, I never actually MEASURED the blocks as I was making them, and I didn't measure the finished quilt top, either. Until I loaded it on the frame for quilting today, and was wondering why I had so much extra batting and backing at the sides of the quilt.
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| Loaded and Basted, But Why is it So Small? |
See that pink centering tape measure on the leveling bar of my frame? If my quilt top was really 77" wide plus the half inch for seam allowances, the edges should both reach the 38 3/4" marks on either side of the tape measure. Instead, the edges of the quilt are landing at about 35 1/4". So I grab a tape measure to double check the size of my kaleidoscope blocks.
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| That Ain't No Eleven Inch Block! |
Umm-hmm! So apparently I'm making a 70" x 90" quilt. I used the 5" x 6" Isosceles Triangle die from AccuQuilt to cut out the pieces for the block centers and the 3" HST die for the corner triangles, which is why everything fit together so nicely. What I didn't realize is that the dimensions on the AccuQuilt Isosceles Triangle die are CUT sizes, not FINISHED sizes -- that isosceles triangle is meant to finish at 4 1/4" wide x 5 1/8" tall, yielding a finished block size of about 10 1/4". I must have steamed that extra quarter inch away in my zeal to attain those matched points and flat block centers.
I briefly -- VERY briefly -- considered taking the quilt top off the frame and adding borders, or even an additional row of blocks... But I really don't have time for that, and if I recall correctly, Lars's quilt finished up on the larger side of fitting his bed, even after I had to soak it in hot Dawn dish soapy water to get rid of the dye that bled onto the yellow and green fabrics. I am just going to hope that this kaleidoscope quilt will be big enough the way it is. But I sure feel foolish. I was so concerned about making flat blocks whose points all matched up, yet it never occurred to me to measure the blocks or the quilt top!
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| The Last Row Stitched Tonight |
The scale of the secondary design in the kaleidoscope blocks makes it difficult to get a sense of whether the champagne bubbles I'm quilting are adding to or detracting from the patchwork design. I think this is one of those quilts where I need to see the whole thing at once, from a distance. Up close, the circles feel kind of busy -- or maybe all that champagne is just going to my head?
Tuesday's To-Do List
Oh, I think we all know what's on my quilting To-Do List for this week! I'm going to finish quilting this Giverny Kaleidoscope quilt for my son, and hopefully get the binding made for it, too. Graduation is just a few weeks away!
I'm linking up today's post with the following linky parties:
TUESDAY
To-Do Tuesday at ChrisKnits
WEDNESDAY
Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
PSST!! I'd Love to Quilt for YOU!
By the way, if you or any of your quilty friends has a quilt top or two that needs quilting, I'd be delighted to quilt for you! My turnaround for edge-to-edge quilting is currently running about 2 weeks, and you can click here to find out how to book your quilt with me.
It's a beautiful quilt and the quilting design is very nice. I don't think Anders will care if it's not quite wide enough for his bed, length is more important. Besides, if he gets too warm at night, this quilt might be tossed aside a lot of the time. Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteI think the champagne bubbles look great and I doubt that Anders will notice is that the quilt is a little smaller. Here's hoping you can get it finished without any hiccups.
ReplyDeletePat
sorry you found out after you got it on the frame that it wasn't the size you thought it would be - that makes it disappointing for you but it all looks great
ReplyDeleteIt is looking really good. I like that quilting design very much, and the colors in the quilt are just dazzling. It's going to look great in his room on his bed! Congrats to him making a college choice too! I'm thinking it's all going to work out, size wise.
ReplyDeleteAnders made a good choice regarding the quilting design. I totally get where you were and sometimes it is more important to move forward that to go back. This is one of those times. He will feel love when he is wrapped in it whether it is the "right" size for the bed or not. To him it will fit perfectly!
ReplyDeleteThis is gorgeous Rebecca! I think once you look at the entire quilt, you'll be able to see the patchwork more. I think your son chose well with the champagne bubbles! I love everything about this quilt! Sorry your calculations were slightly off, but you definitely had perfect points and flat centers!! Great job! I do love my ProStitcher for circles because my circles/pebbles are never ever perfect! But then, neither is any of my free motion quilting, but I have fun trying!! LOL Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI think those champagne bubbles are a neat quilting design! I bet you will see something completely different when you look at the quilt as a whole rather the up close details you're getting as you quilt. It's a beautiful quilt, Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteIf you still have all that batting and backing, it's always possible to add a border along the lines of the "quilt as you go" method like I did with my charity baby quilt a couple months ago to get a little more length. Worked like a charm for me! The bubbles look great!
ReplyDeleteIt’s just gorgeous! It will be fine! No college bed quilts from this mom/grandma, but all the quilts I made are used on the couch, in the car, watching movies and making memories! You made it, it’ll be loved!
ReplyDeleteWhoops!! I think the quilt will still be PLENTY big enough for a dorm bed, Rebecca. LOVE that bubble quilting! The computer stitches those circles beautifully.
ReplyDeleteAwesome design!!! He chose well. Thanks for linking up with To-Do!
ReplyDeleteChampagne bubble is a perfect fit and a perfect name...Here's to looking forward to your finish and a champagne celebration xo
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful quilt and the design of the quilting is gorgeous. I'd love that on all my quilts please!
ReplyDeleteOh well. I think you were more concerned about the points than the size of the blocks, and you know, they turned out perfect so I wouldn't worry about it. Lovely, lovely quilt and that quilting is awesome! Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.
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